Purse, Japanese Design

December, 2009.  How often can a needlepointer say they have nothing to stitch and must go shopping for something new.  That's exactly what I did that December and can honestly say that was the last time I will ever make that statement.  At Waste Knot Needlepoint I found a beautiful painted canvas by Juell Designs to stitch and when completed, it folds into a beautiful evening bag.  The stitching is done, but it hasn't yet been made into a purse.

Journey, and a grand one at that.

November, 2009.  The NoVa Chapter brought in Sue Reed, a nationally known needlepoint designer and instructor, to teach "Journey", an advanced skills project, at a 2-day class.  This was my first official class and even though I considered myself an intermediate stitcher (barely), I was greatly encouraged by chapter-mates to take the class because Sue is known for her patience and detailed explanations.   Wow--what a great class.  Sue gave tons of details regarding the stitches she used and how to execute them.  She drew wonderful diagrams and let me take pictures of those drawings using my cell phone.   They are now a part of my permanent stitching library.  An example is shown below on how to change directions of the continental stitch so the thread remains slanted on the back of the work (for better coverage and tension).

Journey Closeup

Journey Framed

Stitching Guideline

Constantinople (aka Mexico City)

December, 2009.  This project designed by Esthelle Kelley was part of the Chapter Project Book and taught at a NoVa Chapter meeting in October, 2009.  The colors reminded me of a Mexico City tile rather than Constantinople.

Luggage Tag Burberry Style

November, 2009.  A painted canvas luggage tag from Needlewoman East was the perfect thing to take along on a road trip.  Change a few colors and voila...a Burberry style tag.

Stars and Hearts

November, 2009.  A beautiful project for a beginner designed by Pat Dunayer.  Instructions were found in the 11/09 Needlepointer Magazine  My first experience stitching on 24 ct. Congress Cloth.

My First Christmas.....Stocking

August, 2009.  This is an ANG chapter project designed by Pat Mazu.   Love the blues.

Name Tag NoVa Chapter

July, 2009.  Needed a name tag to wear at ANG NoVa Chapter meetings.  Not my best work, but at least I could tell people my name.  The dark area located in the upper portion of the state is called the Northern Virginia area encompassing many counties such as Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax.

Found ANG

Spring, 2009--I discovered the existence of the American Needlepoint Guild (ANG), and found my Zen.  At the time I was living in Alexandria, VA and immediately joined the Northern Virginia (NoVa) Chapter.  Loved these guys--the projects they were stitching, their excitement about stitching, etc.  However, I had one problem--needlepoint is not cross stitch and I vowed I would not start any needlepoint projects until I completed my blue heron, a cross stitch project begun in 2001.  I did it (picture below) and have never looked back.

May, 2011--This piece won Peoples Choice award at the 2011 Rehoboth Beach Museum's Annual Needlework Exhibit.